Pubdate: Tue, 26 Sep 2000
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2000
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste.#1, Vancouver BC V6C 3N3
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/
Author: Robert Webster

U.S.'S LONG REACH

The Sept. 23 article, "Middle ground sought in 'holy war' on drug," quotes 
Robert MacCoun: "European countries have shown it is possible to tackle the 
problem by reducing drug use and the harm it causes -- even in a country 
where drugs are still prohibited."

Mr. MacCoun, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, seems 
not to realize that Europe's halfway measures toward "legalization" result 
more from U.S. and United Nations intransigence and pressure than from 
demonstrated effectiveness of these measures.

True, due to the long and irrational prohibition of drugs, a sudden change 
to even carefully controlled legalization may well result in a certain 
blowback of undesirable effects, much as the sudden deregulation of the 
gold price by former U.S. president Richard Nixon resulted in wild price 
swings for many years.

But in both cases, it is the long period of artificial control that is the 
root cause of the gyrations, not the final institution of rational policy. 
Thus drug prohibition must eventually be renounced as were alcohol 
prohibition, McCarthyism, witch trials and a host of other inquisitions.

Now, we should be carefully calculating how to arrive at this necessary and 
humane goal rather than believing we can significantly reduce the harm of 
drug use while retaining prohibitionary policies.

Robert Webster

Review Editor

International Journal of Drug Policy

Auvare, France
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